Huddersfield Town V.S West Ham United Blog

The game against Huddersfield at the weekend was another shining example of the repeated and constant frustration and inconsistency the West Ham fans feel and experience. A 1-1 draw away from home doesn’t seem too bad, until you see that a Huddersfield player hadn’t scored at home this season. And no, the goal last week at home to Fulham doesn’t count, as in fact it was an opposition player who helped them to their first win of the season. Enter West Ham! And on the 6thminute Huddersfield struck through Prichard seconds after Marko Arnautovic missed a one on one after a brilliant through ball from youngster Grady Diangana. A silly goal to concede, which seems to be a common theme at West Ham, the ball bounced past and through a sea of players, when Prichard unleashed a snapshot catching Fabianski well off guard. A nice early goal set up the game to be a cracking 90 minutes for the neutral, which is a shame as 3PM kick offs are not televised.

Statistically the game was not looking good for West Ham as during Huddersfield’s premier league stint, the team rarely lose from a first blood goal advantage. Huddersfield played a brilliant pressing game in the first half restricting West Ham to hopeless long balls up the pitch. Going into half time after a nasty injury to Huddersfield full-back Chris Lowe, I felt disappointed, angry but slightly optimistic. West Ham went under drastic change in the summer. From upgrading from David Moyes to Manuel Pellergrini, and adding a further 9 new signings in the summer, it was never going to be an easy start under such ruthless and serious change. The team however has started to look like it was gelling, so in that sense I was optimistic we could turn it around.

We started the second half brightly, attacking more confidently, putting passages of play together and creating goal scoring opportunities. Huddersfield started to look tired, allowing West Ham to dominate the play but the Terriers remained resilient. Then in the 74thminute, Felipe Anderson levelled the game up with a fantastically improvised shot, drilling the ball into the ground allowing it to rise into the top corner of the Huddersfield goal which was swamped with players.

The game ended 1-1, but it was a brilliant game to watch, but in conclusion it was typical West Ham. The only thing we seem to be consistent in is being inconsistent, and as fans we can only hope that changes. Again, stand out performers were Fabainski despite being caught out, Diop and Balbuena look to be forming a strong partnership, Rice sitting and protecting the defence, even Snodgrass! Who was outlawed and slated publicly by the owners puts in 100% effort week in week out in midfield. As west Ham fans we don’t expect much, we don’t expect league titles, we don’t expect domestic trophies or European competition. We expect effort. Towards the top end of the pitch Diangana is growing increasingly confident, and is a real threat when on the ball, Felipe Anderson is now starting to justify his price tag of £40M and Marko Arnautovic is Marko Arnautovic, the talisman, the go to guy, however his current knee injury which he is playing through is a cause for concern.

What’s next for West Ham? Its reigning champions Manchester City at home, the game already looks bleak, it could be an absolute goal fest and the free scoring champions visit the London stadium on the 24thof November.